Four Hundred Proverbs
by Vretiel
Summary: Rock Lee has no idea what's happening, but he'll roll with it. As best as he can, anyway. Time-Travel/AU
1. Chapter 1

**The Beautiful Green Wild Beast of the…Warring States?**

 **First Proverb: Kishikaisei**

" _Wake from death and return to life."_

Meaning: to turn a bad or desperate situation into a success

* * *

"So, Lee, any girl waiting back at home?" TenTen swung her legs from her perch in a tree above their camp. She was teasing, mostly, although the curiosity in her tone was not hard to miss. "Your love life is as mysterious as a silent Uchiha. Surely there's someone who has won your heart by now."

The cool August breeze permeated the blanket of the evening sky. Lee regarded Tenten as a burst of light, a myriad of colors taking over any area she was in even if only for a brief moment. Their friendship was something he had appreciated whole heartedly and was saddened that Neji was not here to complete their trio. It's been a while since the two were on a mission together. Too long, in his opinion.

Lee laughed, waving her off nonchalantly, knowing exactly why she brought up this conversation. "My heart does not exist to be taken. I will give it if I desire." He bit into his apple and stared at a bush thoughtfully. "I don't think there's been anyone since my feelings for Sakura-chan have diminished. But it's far too early for me to have a child anyway."

TenTen had overheard his conversation with Gai about taking on a student. He was turning nineteen soon and was recently promoted to jounin. Gai thought he was more than ready to become a teacher and had even roped the Rokudaime into agreeing.

Lee eventually expressed his wish to pass on his skills to a child of his own before taking on a genin team. If that never happened, then he could always adopt. The Konoha Orphanage was practically his second home lately. When he wasn't visiting Gai, he was usually there.

"It's never too early to start looking for a lover, though. Though I understand if you just want to wait it out." TenTen jumped and landed on his right, taking the apple from his hand and turning it to bite the other side. "It's just that Ino has been playing matchmaker recently, and I hear Chouji has had luck with a Kumo-nin."

TenTen had been one of Ino's guinea pigs, only for it to end up in a disaster after a single date with a chuunin who she already forgot the name of. It was safe to say that TenTen wasn't going to force herself into the romance scene for a while. And she was content with that.

"Karui-san, correct?" he remained unbothered over his stolen apple and nodded vigorously. "I knew I saw the passion and bloom of young love surrounding them as they walked side by side. It's the same one around Naruto and Hinata."

TenTen snorted and tossed whatever remained of the apple into the distance for a passing critter. "Naruto and Hinata are currently stuck in the phase of 'two idiots in love but they don't know what to do about it' and it may stay that way. I'm not even sure Naruto realizes his own feelings."

Lee, however, was much more confident in his two friends. "They'll be fine. You must be confident!" he punched the air, "optimistic!" he jumped to his feet and posed, "because love always prevails!"

TenTen was still absolutely positive that the shimmering trees and spontaneous stars were the cause of a genjutsu. Yet even Sakura was unable to dispel the twinkling coming from Lee's teeth. "Whatever you say, Lee. Get some rest. I'll take the first shift."

He smiled at her and retreated into the tent, removing his flak jacket and curling into the sleeping bag. At his head was the large scroll they were delivering to a temple in the Land of Iron. Both of them were in the dark concerning its content, but the Rokudaime reassured them that the mission was a simple C-Rank.

Kakashi had mentioned that the two looked like they wouldn't mind some time outside of the village, and they had readily accepted the task without much assessment into what they're getting into.

They would reach their destination in a day or so if they kept up the pace they currently had. At times, Lee and TenTen would randomly burst into neck breaking speed as a form of silent competition. The only hindrance they experienced throughout the trek was TenTen getting her foot stuck in a vine.

Lee teased her about it for hours.

Fully intending to enjoy his four hours of sleep, Lee dreamt silently. There were visions of a rock skipping water and a lone leaf with a hole in its middle. A subtle warmth seeped into the corners of his soul, a spring dusting away the remains of the last day of a cold winter night.

Initially unaware of it, something around him began, its birth as quiet as the drift of first snow. It snaked its way into his veins, flowing through them like it belonged there. His heart felt as if it were expanding, reaching out for something and desperately trying to hold on. Like fingertips stretching towards the clouds.

He turned, and summer breathed onto his neck, bringing forth floating petals and swaying branches. Lee opened one eye and was met with the open sky and an abundance of constellations. Just past midnight. TenTen didn't awake him like she was supposed to. Odd.

The moon was full and bright, a serene power that had no need to justify its existence. Lee made no move to think about the horror that was sealed there almost two years ago.

Lee shook his head to remove any cobwebs of fatigue from his mind and was met with longer strands of hair in his vision than he remembered. Again, odd. He stretched his arms, satisfied with the audible pop coming from his back and stood up from his sleeping bag. The world was strangely bigger than he last saw it.

"Help!"

The voice of a young child filled his ears, the obvious desperation curling around his neck, and Lee sprang into action. The sound of his footsteps were lighter than he remembered, as if his body had lost weight in the hours he was asleep. Deciding to dwell on it later while a life was not in danger, he pushed through the bushes and landed into a field of bodies. He cursed inwardly, pressing his sleeve into his nose to ward off the smell of blood that assaulted his senses.

He didn't notice the absence of the bandages around his arms and hands.

Lee squinted his eyes and could see a group of men surrounding a child around a set of boulders and large roots. Judging from the way they held their weapons, he would be dead in a minute. And they looked to be enjoying it.

"No!" he cried out and pushed himself forward, aiming a strong kick to the back of a man holding a large shuriken.

The rest of the men looked at him in shock, and Lee took the opportunity to use the Leaf Whirlwind. "Yosh!" Lee cried out when one of his low kicks allowed two of the nameless assailants to his right to crash into each other and fall into a heap of tangled limbs on the ground. Their shouts of pain only fueled his adrenaline.

Not wishing to stay any longer, Lee grabbed a handful of dirt to throw into the eyes of the remaining two men to his left and quickly grabbed the boy who was the on the verge of fainting. Positioning the boy on his back was harder than it should be, but Lee forced himself to gather chakra to his feet and make it propel him forward. The boy's life depended on it.

"TenTen, where are you?" Lee hissed under his breath, jumping from branch to branch to escape the slaughter that the little boy would no doubt have been a victim of had Lee not intervened. She should have heard him or sensed him by now.

The thought only made him feel worse. She either disappeared or left him behind. Though he was confident that she would never do the latter.

"Are you alright?" Lee asked the boy once they made it to a small stream, panting more than he'd like to at the moment. The exhaustion that washed over him was almost foreign, a state he always expected after opening a Gate, not running for ten minutes. "What's your name?" he asked softly when he noticed the boy was still shaking.

The boy sniffed and rubbed the tears from his eyes. "Itama. I think I'm okay." He winced when Lee began to slowly remove his damaged armor. Several cuts from flying kunai were the most he sustained.

"Well, my name is Lee Rock, but you can call me Lee." He gave him a small smile to diffuse the tension in Itama's shoulder. It worked. Partially.

"You're not going to kill me?" Itama stiffened and his eyes searched for any weapon on Lee's person that would deal the final blow. He probably should have done that _before_ he told Lee who he was.

It only confirmed how young and inexperienced he was. Lee knew what that was like more than anyone.

Lee ruffled his hair with a small laugh. "I wouldn't save you just to kill you, Itama-san. Can you tell me what happened?" he made sure his tone was the one he used when he was with the children at the orphanage. Soft and kind.

Itama bit his lower lip. "They crowded around me when the kunai was knocked out of my hands."

"Why would they attack you?" Lee's brows furrowed in frustration. He had only seen this type of armor on the Nidaime and Shodai Hokage. All of this made him anxious. It was as if he was stuck in another world. "You can't be any older than seven! Where are your comrades?" the idea of Itama being abandoned nearly made him furious.

It was a time a peace and things like this still happening floored him. He couldn't piece any of it together.

"I'm eight! You don't look much older than me." Itama pouted then became somber. "And the others died. It was an ambush. 'Tou-sama thought I was ready for the battlefield, but all I could do was watch as the Uchiha killed my family one by one." He bowed his head and looked like he was going to cry again.

A shiver of disbelief crawled up Lee's spine. He didn't know who to be mad at. "Uchiha? Like Uchiha Sasuke?" dead clan members didn't just rise up from the grave to kill defenseless children. Was this another situation involving Edo Tensei?

Itama gave him a confused look. "I don't know who that is. Is he one of the sons of Uchiha Tajima?"

For the first time in his life, Lee experienced a headache that wasn't caused by a hangover. "Perhaps it's best we find a place to stay for the night. It will not be safe for us to move when the enemy expects us to." He got up and brushed the dirt off his black pants.

Wait, black?

"How strange," Lee murmured as he inspected his clothing.

He hadn't worn this outfit since he was in the Academy. Lee replaced it with the green jumpsuit after being personally trained by Gai. The sight of the white top and black pants filled dread within him. His legs were shorter, his hands smaller. No orange leg warmers. Lee could only imagine what he would see if he looked at his reflection.

"Are you okay, Lee-san?" Itama eyed him carefully. "Were you hurt?" he joined in on the inspection. Any other time, Lee would have found it to be adorable and worthy of his joy-filled tears.

"I think I'm going to faint, Itama-san."

And he did.

When Lee awoke it was already morning. Sunlight, tinted from the foliage, played across his face.

"TenTen!" he sat up quickly, hands positioned in the Strong Fist. His breath escaped his lungs harshly, his chest heaving. She did not answer him, only the chirping birds.

Right. TenTen was gone.

He took in the empty clearing and the bundle of leaves beneath him. Memories from last night returned to him, and Lee wiped the grime out of his eyes. It was not a bad dream.

"You're awake!" Itama appeared with two fish in his hands. He was drenched from head to toe yet it did nothing to erase the proud look on his face. "I made a bed with large leaves after you fainted." He set down the fish between them. "And since I woke up before you, I went to get us something to eat."

Lee smiled brightly, momentarily pushing away whatever anxiety he possessed. Half of Lee expected Itama to run off without him. It wouldn't have been a surprise. Itama seemed to trust Lee much more than he should have. "Thank you for your hard work, Itama-san. It seems we got lucky and we weren't found while we slept."

Itama blushed and nearly stumbled. "You're welcome, Lee-san. You're going to have to build the fire though." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Lee was uncharacteristically silent as he ate. Lost in thought he didn't see Itama's worried glances.

Clearly, there was no way he was still at the border of the Land of Iron. Everything around him reminded him too much of Konoha's forests. The more that was revealed the more frightened he became. Lee felt out of place, like he didn't belong. Whatever happened during TenTen's shift was something he couldn't comprehend.

Even the scroll had been missing when he woke up.

The air was warm, settling nicely on his exposed skin. His arms devoid of any scars had bothered him greatly. It was something he took pride in, and like TenTen, it was just _gone._ A rip in his identity, wide open with scorched edges.

"Are you going to take me home now, Lee-san?" Itama asked to stop Lee from literally biting into the fish's bone. "Don't you have family waiting for you too?"

Gai, TenTen, and the rest of Konoha 11 flashed within his mind. He promised himself to set flowers on Neji's grave every day. Lee's heart swelled, ached, and ruptured all at once. He needed to find TenTen and fast. She must have went to the temple once she couldn't find him.

Or, at least, he hoped.

Lee stood up and threw the fish aside. "Let's start with getting you back first. Do you know which way your village is?" hopefully not too far from the original campsite, he added silently.

"To the east, somewhere near the formation of the mountains." Itama pursed his lips in thought. "I'm not very good with directions, although, I can recognize places and tell if we're going the right way."

That was near Konoha. But Itama didn't say that, so Lee didn't mention it.

"Sounds good to me." Lee gave him a thumbs up and a wide grin to hide his inner turmoil. "I'll get you back to your family even if it kills me."

Itama squawked at the glow that seemed to envelop Lee's form. A genjutsu. That was definitely a genjutsu. "What?! Don't say that!" the mortification on his face only increased as Lee continued to speak.

"Then I will do a hundred pushups if I fail!" he crouched and allowed Itama to climb on his back.

"Why a hundred?!"

"Oh ho, I see." Lee nodded in agreement. It was too easy. "A thousand is a good amount!"

"Lee-san!"

"You're right! I can go higher!"

Itama's protests joined Lee's laughter as he ran.

After two hours of travel, they eventually took a break at a river. Carrying Itama in his current state was not easy. Lee tried his hardest to make it appear that Itama was not a burden. He'd rather do five thousand jump ropes than ever be the cause of Itama's sadness.

Lee blew his hair out of his eyes, annoyed that he didn't have a hitai-ate or a hachimaki to stop it from doing so. Itama looked ready to hand over his own, but Lee declined the offer before Itama could even say it. It had been a while since his hair wasn't styled in its regular bowl cut.

He was barely comfortable in his own body at this point.

"How old are you, Lee-san?" Itama asked from where he splashed water back and forth with his feet. "And where is your clan from?"

"How old do I look like?" Lee asked cautiously. He tried to veil his apprehension.

"As old as my eldest brother. He's twelve, I think." Itama tilted his head back to stare up at the sky. "I can't wait to see them. They must be worried."

Lee wasn't quite sure what was louder: the sound of a heart breaking or the sound of a heart plummeting into the stomach. He was unsure how he was experiencing both at the same time. They both certainly hurt.

"I'm twelve," Lee murmured to himself and rubbed his chin. "I have seemingly went back in time seven years." Disbelief dripped from his words.

Yet from the way Itama spoke and how Konoha or any other Hidden Villages were not mentioned, it was right to assume that he went back much, much farther. For the Uchiha were still dead seven years ago. If he found a way out of this, he was going to gift Gaara dozens of jumpsuits. Whether he wanted them or not.

Lee nearly missed Itama's next words.

"Tobirama might think you're weird because of your eyebrows, but I think Hashirama will like you." Itama hummed in amusement. He stood up and shook the water off of his sandals. "You must be a really good shinobi to take down five Uchiha like that."

"Tobirama? Hashirama?" Lee stuttered out. There was no way they could have been the same people that would become the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage.

Suddenly it all started to make sense. The Uchiha ready to kill a child in cold blood. The sending of said child into war. The armor that one would consider an antique. The lack of a Hidden Village headband on Itama. The mention of Tobirama and Hashirama.

Rock Lee was twelve years old and stuck in Sengoku Jidai.

He fainted for the second time.

"Lee-san!"

The sun was still thankfully high in the sky when Lee returned to the land of the living. He groaned softly, pushing himself up. Itama was twirling a flower in his fingers, singing a random tune in a whisper. Once again Lee was surprised to not find him gone. Any other Shinobi would have thought Lee to be a nuisance incapable of keeping conscious and would have left him.

Lee had to remind himself that Itama was just an eight year old kid. Scared and alone.

Just like Lee was.

"How long was I out?" Lee ran a hand through his unruly hair. Perfect. He was going to meet the legendary Senju looking like he just got out of a fight with a chicken. And _lost._

His green jumpsuit would have definitely impressed the future Hokage.

Itama's head snapped upward and he scrambled to his feet. "Not long. Only thirty minutes this time. I counted." He squatted so he could look Lee in the eye. "Do you have an illness? Is that why you faint so much?" his lower lip quivered. "That's how I lost my mom."

Lee bit his knuckle and tried to hold back a sob. Curse his emotions. Curse this child and his sad existence. Lee wanted nothing more than to scoop Itama into his arms and run into the sunset. Tobirama and Hashirama be damned. _I will protect you with my life,_ Lee swore.

"I was just tired, don't worry about me," Lee lied. The words scrubbed at his throat like sandpaper. "We should continue on. The flames of my youth returned to my spirit and I am energetic as ever." He did several jabs to prove his point.

"Flames of your youth?" Itama tilted his head. His face was filled with an endearing sort of astonishment and blatant adoration. A resemblance identical to the one Lee possessed when he first met Gai.

A true smile lifted the corners of Lee's mouth, and he could practically hear Gai's approval. If he died right now, it would be both bittersweet and euphoric at once.

Lee jumped to his feet and began to flex. "I am the Beautiful Green Wild Beast of Sengoku Jidai!" the title sounded awkward since it wasn't a village, but he had to come up with _something_ to impress Itama while not revealing his circumstance. "I am a taijutsu master who has overcome every obstacle. I will prove to the world that I can be a great Shinobi without the aid of ninjutsu or genjutsu!"

Confetti exploded from behind him as fire engulfed his eyes. Itama's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"I see a future within your eyes, Itama-san." Lee grabbed both of his hands and placed them close to his chest. "You will make the best of your youth if you become my student!"

Itama stared at him blankly. "You want me to what?" he had not been expecting that.

"Don't you wish to make your father proud? To be able to defend yourself when no one is there? To protect your most precious person?" Lee tried not to cry when Itama answered _yes_ to all three questions. "My motto is to be stronger than yesterday. I can help you become a Shinobi that will be remembered throughout history." He stepped back to give Itama a thumbs up.

"You think I can become strong?" Itama asked shyly, almost reminding him of Hinata.

Lee nodded repeatedly as if each movement of his head cemented the truth of the matter and the promise he was giving Itama. "I will make you," Lee narrowed his eyes, "the Two-Toned Beast of the…what's your clan name?" he feigned ignorance.

Itama fell to his fate without a blink. "Senju."

Lee picked him up and spun him around with uncontrolled excitement.

"Yosh! The Two-Toned Beast of the Senju!"

The duo would take this era by storm. In his happiness, Lee had forgotten where he truly was and what situation he got himself into. TenTen was no doubt screaming to the heavens at the fact that Lee had essentially screwed up the timeline by taking a child from the past as his student. Maybe this was all just a dream. There was no one around to tell him he was making a mistake, anyway.

"Wait, Lee-san! We're going to fall—"

Well, if he had to look like a wet mop for the rest of the day, then so be it. Nothing could ruin his day. Not even the sight of Hashirama and Tobirama staring at him in disbelief as he lazily floated down the river with Itama in his arms.

Wait a minute.

* * *

 **Ending Note:** If any of you know any Time-Travel Lee stories, please do point me to them


	2. Chapter 2

**Rock Lee and the Senju Brothers**

 **Eighth Proverb: Fukusuibon'nikaerazu**

 _" _Spilt water will not return to the tray."__

Meaning: No use crying over spilled milk. _ _  
__

* * *

"Was tying him to a tree really necessary?"

Tobirama scowled. This was the second time Itama asked that question, and this would be the second time he answered the same way. "If what you say happened is true along with his skills, then he's dangerous. All Taijutsu specialists are." He regarded Lee with the expression of a person who had no idea what he was dealing with but didn't want anyone to _know_ that. A problem solver, that one, clearly.

Despite Itama's concerns, Lee was honored to be tied to a tree by Senju Tobirama, future Nidaime and all around fantastic shinobi. He got to witness Tobirama's strength during the Fourth Shinobi War and was highly impressed. To show that he meant no harm, he had even assisted with the rope and was too occupied (and polite) to note how it was odd for two twelve year olds to carry that around.

It also warmed his heart to witness such passion concerning the safety of family. Lee was practically glittering with happiness. This was probably the best moment to gain allies (the Uchiha no doubt have a scroll nailed to a wall with a terrible drawing of him saying: _KILL WHATEVER **THIS** IS ON SIGHT_). He might even get the opportunity to go live with them if there wasn't a chance to return home.

Home _..._

Lee's face fell, likening his appearance to a depressed and damp mop. It would be a decade or so until the formation of Konoha. Tobirama's skill with space-time ninjutsu might not even be able to help his predicament because, really, time-travel was something that should not be tampered with. Not to mention Lee's attachment to Itama. He couldn't bring his pupil to the future with him.

"Why is he all sad now?" Tobirama looked disturbed at Lee's sudden change in expression. The dark, visible cloud over his captive was gloomy enough to cause concern.

"Be nice," Hashirama spoke for the first time since they fished the two out of the river. He elbowed Tobirama without taking his eyes off Lee. "I think we can trust him. He saved Itama-otouto after all."

"I could not stand by and watch a child be killed." Lee shook his head to disperse the melancholy he felt. He could dwell on the future later. As ironic as that sounded. "I only did what was right."

That seemed to be the perfect answer, for Hashirama beamed at his choice of words and reached for the rope. Unfortunately his hand was smacked away before he could remove the knot.

"Ouch!" Hashirama whined and rubbed the reddened skin. Such cruelty.

Tobirama grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away. "I say we leave him here and bring Itama home. Father will be happy that he won't have to bury another son."

Everyone collectively winced.

Itama protested, "But—!"

"It is best you both listen to Tobirama-san." Lee attempted Nice-Guy-Pose #67 around the restraints. Hashirama appeared to be impressed. "His heart comes from a good place. I will be fine here and once you deem me as your youthful comrade, I will happily begin our training, Itama-san."

"Training?" Hashirama and Tobirama asked simultaneously.

"He promised that he'd make me stronger." Itama nodded along to his own words as if the movement would cement the truth of them. "So that I can protect you guys like you protect me all the time. I want to make father proud too!" he moved to stand beside Lee and gave a shy thumbs-up.

Lee would _gratefully_ die at this moment with that image ingrained in his head.

Tobirama spluttered, "Is he weeping!?" he pointed at Lee as if he suddenly discovered the reason for all of his life issues and misfortunes. His fingers twitched with the strength of the need to strangle the nearest neck.

Lee suspected that if Itama or Hashirama were not here, he would have been silenced and never seen again. Not the worst way to go, Lee admitted silently.

Hashirama attempted to smother his chortles with his palm. "Don't be so harsh, Tobi. It's not every day a Taijutsu specialist decides he wants to train someone not a part of his own clan. Itama might really benefit greatly from this."

Before Tobirama could voice his thoughts on how _wrong_ Hashirama was, he gaped when Lee easily slipped out of the rope and gathered Itama into his arms as a sunset appeared behind him with flying doves bursting forth.

"Maybe you should just kill me right here. I'll even supply the sword." Tobirama sighed softly, falling to fate a little more stubbornly than Itama did. "It would be a better outcome than witnessing father yell at all of us because we brought him home. He'll think we've lost our minds befriending a total stranger in the middle of dangerous territory."

Hashirama cringed, fully well knowing what their father sounded like when he was absolutely angry. Lee continued to forget their presence, smothering Itama in a deadly, yet oddly sweet, embrace. Somehow, despite his oxygen being cut off, Itama seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.

"I've never heard of the Lee clan before, so, we won't have to worry about anyone declaring war because they want him back. It's probably a scattered and nomadic family." Hashirama shrugged one shoulder. "Father will just have to deal with the fact that Itama now has a teacher…our age." He scratched his chin and tilted his head slightly to the left to dodge a dove that came too close.

Tobirama shook his head. "The Uchiha might want him dead. I'll gladly give him up if they come to our doorstep asking for him." His lips twitched into the semblance of a smile. "He could be an enemy skilled in being undercover."

Hashirama promptly slapped him on the back of his head.

"Lee has had multiple openings to attack us, yet all he's done is let us tie him up. I say he's harmless." Hashirama paused. "To us at least. We have Itama to thank for that."

After removing Itama from Lee's octopus-like clutches (Tobirama's words), the four sat on the forest floor, keenly aware of their surroundings as they continued their conversation. The trees around them were serene, yet powerful, their tall statures all proclaiming ' _warriors far greater than thee have gotten lost within.'_ Lee wanted to observe it all and compare everything to the future.

"Is your clan from this part of the country?" Hashirama asked, chasing away the brief silence and the lull that settled over them. His legs were folded, and he had a tanto in his lap. He made sure to keep it as far away from Tobirama's twitchy fingers as much as possible.

"I don't really know others from my family," Lee explained while ruffling Itama's hair. "I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember, but I found a father figure in my sensei and siblings in my friends."

Ten-Ten if you're out there—

"And who was your sensei?" Tobirama's expression did not match the empathy in Hashirama's. Lee did not hold a grudge against him for being suspicious. "Must have been really strong for you to survive this long."

Then came the flood.

Lee jumped to his feet and began bawling. "Gai-sensei is a cool man no mere mortal can describe so casually! He is the youthful Blue Beast, and the best Taijutsu master in the world." He placed both of his closed fists on his hips. The horizon appeared behind him, and the world suddenly became a little too bright. "He can take on any opponent, but unfortunately, is now bound to a wheelchair for his efforts in saving all who are precious to him." He sniffled and bowed his head. The memory of Gai opening all eight gates would never leave him.

"You really admire him, don't you?" Itama's question was filled with awe, seemingly used to Lee's antics. Tobirama and Hashirama were still recovering from whatever _that_ was. "How come he isn't with you?"

"Well, uh," Lee rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I'm not quite sure. Yesterday I was running an errand to the west, and the next thing I knew, I was saving Itama far from my original location." He felt bad for lying, but he couldn't exactly explain that he time-traveled. Not yet, maybe once he figured out how he got here in the first place.

"So you're going to leave us and go back to your sensei?" Itama frowned, drumming his fingers against his knee. He acted like he was just told he couldn't keep a stray he saved. "He must be worried sick."

Scratch that, he was _never_ going to tell them he time-traveled. Matter of fact, why should he leave now? Itama clearly needed Lee in his life. Staying in the past would do him a favor.

Lee inwardly shook his head and slapped himself. No, that was not the proper thing to do. Gai and the rest of the village in the future needed his youthful presence to preserve the village's reputation of being _hip_ and _cool._

"I'm not quite sure if I'm able to return to him. For the mean time, I hope to temporarily live among you and your clan until I gather my bearings." He cleared his throat. "That is, if you'll have me." He politely bowed.

Hashirama pursed his lips and thought over Lee's words. "You said you were going to train Itama. Do you plan on taking him with you once you find out the location of your sensei?"

"Of course not!" Lee looked appalled. Offended. Displeased. You get the point. "I would never take someone from their family. I only wish to pass on the Will of Fire and—"

Oh no, Lee.

"Will of Fire?" all three gave him confused stares.

Lee took in a sharp breath and wondered how many hits to his skull with a branch would take to effectively knock him out. Maybe it would kill him and then he'd be reborn seventy years from now. A solid plan.

At their curious faces, he couldn't leave them hanging.

"For many, the Will of Fire gives us the strength to continue fighting despite the odds," Lee explained, surprisingly reserved, and he resumed sitting. He thought of the Sandaime, Asuma, and others who have lost their lives over the course of his years. "But to me, the Will of Fire means never giving up on your dreams. To work hard even if you do not possess natural talent. I wish to pass that passion and motivation to a son of my own, but perhaps that's not meant to be."

Tobirama furrowed his brows and leaned back. "You're twelve. Why are you acting as if it's too late? Is it the eyebrows?" he had the audacity to look amused when Lee turned as red as a tomato. "Have you already decided to live as a lonely hermit in the mountains with a bunch of cats?"

This time, both Hashirama and Itama slapped him on the back of his head.

"Ouch! What was that for?!"

Lee couldn't help but smile as he watched them scold Tobirama. Yes. He could definitely see that Konoha was going to be in good hands. Although, he was slightly disappointed that he explained the concept of the Will of Fire before Hashirama could discover it himself. His thoughts dangerously brushed on the idea of being known as a founder to one of the most powerful shinobi villages. Lee and the Senju Brothers. And that Uchiha guy who ended up betraying everyone, but that's not the main concern as of yet.

It certainly was something to look forward to.

* * *

 **Ending Note:** I sincerely apologize for being a piece of shit who can't update fast enough. I've been overseas since the beginning of August, and I wrote this while staying in the mountains so, it's not long and might have some errors but I didn't want you guys to keep waiting. Thank you so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews. Ya'll are great.


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